This invention relates to an easel and mahl, and particularly to the manipulation of a hand and brush guide for facilitating art work, it being a general object of this invention to provide a manipulatable hand and brush guide in combination with an adjustable traveling mahl over a selectively positionable canvas frame held to the easel as by magnetic means adapted for quick positioning and replacement as circumstances require.
The use of mahls is common practice among artisits, who use the device as a hand or wrist rest, usually supported upon a padded end of a stick-like member held by one hand in order to steady the other hand of the artist. Drafting boards and the like have been provided with moveable straight edges, and though there have been straight edges cambered across drawing surfaces, straight edges had not been used as a mahl for steadying the painter's hand until improvements in this art as disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,109 issued Jan. 8, 1988, entitled ADJUSTABLE TRAVELING MAHL AND MAGNETIC SUPPORT FOR MOUNTING ARTIST'S CANVASES. An object of this invention is to provide a hand support and guide that coextensively traverse the traveling mahl as it extends from side to side of the base.
Straight edges maintained to operate horizontally over drawing boards is common practice, and balance means is provided to carry the weight of the straight edge in said '109 patent. Also, braking means for positioning a mahl is provided to ensure sufficient stability to carry the force applied by the wrist or arm of an artist while applying paint with a brush or the like, in the '109 patent. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a hand support and guide means that steadies the hand and/or brush in any selected position over the canvas and where it can be arrested by manipulation of the artist.
Rotatable drawing boards are common practice, and in combination with adjustable straight edges. Such rotation has been angularly calibrated and the drawings taped thereto. The thickness of a common canvas can vary considerably, and it has been found quite necessary that the mahl of said '109 patent be adjustable in height from the canvas supporting surface. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a hand rest and guide that follows this adjustment over the canvas supporting surface, and over the supported canvas and frame as well.
Painter's canvases have been selectively placed by manipulation of magnetic retainers that adhere to the supporting surface of the table, in this instance a rotatable table that can be universally positioned as may be required for maximum comfort of the artist when exercising his or her painting proceedures. In practice, the canvas support is a magnetic laminate, and the canvas retainers are magnetic supports.
The mahl to which the guide of the present invention is attached is a rigid structural member having minimal deflection. Accordingly, the guide-rest herein disclosed is also a rigid structural member having minimal deflection characteristics. Whereas the structural span of the mahl is substantially great, the structural extension of this hand guide-rest is relatively small. Therefore, strength of material is not critical, so that a transparent acrylic plastic material is used in its construction, it being an object of this invention to retain visibility through the guide structure, so that the artist can view his or her work as it is executed.
In accordance with this invention, it is necessary that the hand guide be moved and positioned as may be required. Accordingly, it is an object to slide the guide coextensively of the mahl, and to provide antifriction means in combination with brake means for holding a selected position of the guide. In practice, the antifriction means is ball bearings, and the brake means a friction clutch.
As stated at the outset, the primary object of this invention is to provide a manipulatable hand rest and brush guide for artists. As shown herein the guide is advantageously employed with a traveling mahl as disclosed in my previous U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,109 wherein a mahl in the from of a beam is carried at an adjusted height over the painter's canvas and disposed horizontally and to move upwardly and downwardly into braked position securely positioned. The guide as it is disclosed herein is secured to the top plane of said beam and is free to coextensively tranverse the same, while being cantilevered so as to project upwardly and/or away from the artist and in the top plane of said beam. Accordingly, a hand rest is provided that overlies the canvas and which can be moved freely and alternately braked in a desired position. A feature is the rail and carriage means that controls the free condition and braked condition inherently responsive to manipulation by the artist, as will be described.
The foregoing and various other objects and features of this invention will be apparent and fully understood from the following detailed description of the typical preferred forms and applciations thereof, throughout which description reference is made to the accompanying drawings.